Fleet and truck operators learned more about bolstering fuel economy as the Kenworth T680 Advantage Road Tour recently opened with its first dealer-hosted events at Worldwide Equipment (Lexington, Ky.), Truck Enterprises (Harrisonburg, Va.), and Kenworth of Pennsylvania (Dunmore, Pa). The tour runs through September in the United States and Canada.

Shown is the Kenworth T680 Advantage with the Road Tour Trailer.

The tour’s first stop at Worldwide Equipment’s dealership in Lexington featured a cookout and drew customers to learn more about the T680 Advantage’s optimized powertrain combination of the PACCAR MX-13 engine and the Eaton Fuller Advantage 10-speed automated transmission. Visitors also viewed the double-expanding, 53-foot tour trailer with an interactive, self-guided exhibit, where they learned more about the T680 Advantage, new Kenworth T880 vocational truck, and 12.9-liter PACCAR MX-13 engine, and Kenworth history.

The T680 Advantage Road Tour truck (left) is parked nearby the Tour Trailer at the tour’s first stop, which was at Worldwide Equipment – Lexington in Kentucky.

Kyle Coleman, marketing coordinator for Truck Enterprises, said customers were impressed with the T680 Advantage during its next stop at Truck Enterprises – Harrisonburg, which featured a barbecue and attracted customers and guests.

“This tour gave us a chance to showcase the innovations and strengths of the new Kenworth T680 Advantage truck,” Coleman said. “There’s always a new level of excitement among customers and our staff when Kenworth introduces a new truck configuration, especially when it offers significant fuel efficiency improvements.”

The tour then traveled 300 miles north to Dunmore, Pa. “Among customers who visited our Dunmore dealership during the road tour’s stop, we had some folks from a local food distributorship that just took delivery of two Kenworth T680s stop by,” said Bill Burns, corporate new truck sales manager for Kenworth of Pennsylvania. “They believe the Kenworth T680 Advantage could improve on the half mile per gallon better fuel economy performance they’re already getting with their standard-equipped T680s.”

Above, are scenes from the tour stop at Kenworth of Pennsylvania – Dunmore.

The new Kenworth T680 Advantage is Kenworth’s most fuel-efficient truck. It begins with the optimized powertrain combination of the 2014 PACCAR MX-13 engine and the Eaton Fuller Advantage™ 10-speed automated transmission, and incorporates fuel-economy drive axles (such as the new Dana AdvanTEK) and special factory-installed aerodynamic package. As a result, the T680 Advantage with 76-inch sleeper offers up to a 5 percent fuel economy improvement* compared to last year’s T680 76-inch sleeper with 2013 PACCAR MX-13 engine, Eaton UltraShift® PLUS LAS 10-speed transmission, and Dana DSP40 6×4.

“Seeing the new Kenworth T680 Advantage and hearing the reaction from our customers has really energized us,” Burns added. “Truck operators are looking for ways to gain maximum fuel economy out of their equipment and the T680 Advantage certainly delivers.”